Thursday, December 24, 1998; 3:39 p.m. EST
Mobil Oil Aceh Is Being Sued By Human Rights Group
"Ghost from the Past"
Indonesia Rights Group Eyes Mobil
By Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer,
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A human rights group is investigating allegations that oil giant Mobil Corp. was aware of military atrocities in an Indonesian province in the early 1990s.
Local human-rights workers have said that hundreds of civilians died during the fighting in Aceh province during the government's decadelong campaign against separatist guerillas.
Muhammad Salim, a member of the government-backed National Human Rights Commission, said Thursday it had received witness reports that Mobil managers were aware of abuses in Aceh and even provided equipment to soldiers involved in atrocities.
``We have to learn whether this information is accurate and clarify these reports,'' Salim said.
Mobil has denied the allegations. It has big operations in Aceh through its subsidiary Mobil Oil Indonesia.
The human rights panel was set up by the government but has developed a reputation for independent decision-making. It often issues highly publicized reports but does not have the power to take legal action.
Indonesian human rights workers have said that Mobil must have known about atrocities in Aceh and also provided earth-moving equipment to soldiers who used it to dig mass graves.
The accusations were contained in an article this month in the U.S. magazine Business Week.
In a Dec. 18 statement, Mobil said allegations that it was complicit in human rights abuses were misleading and that it had cooperated fully with the magazine's inquiries.
``Despite these efforts, the magazine chose to sensationalize the story by emphasizing unsubstantiated allegations and rumor,'' the company's statement said.
``Mobil does not condone human rights abuses, and if substantiated claims linking its activities to such abuses were brought to its attention, the company would aggressively respond to and denounce such actions,'' the company said from its Fairfax, Va., headquarters.
Critics say Mobil provided camps, electricity, communications and other facilities to the armed forces at a time when it was widely known that a military campaign was under way.
``They have helped since the beginning of the operation,'' said Abdurahman Jacob, chairman of the legal aid foundation in Lhokseumawe, an oil and gas center in Aceh.
© Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
